Recent Perspectives and Upcoming Directions in Molecular Diagnosis of Malaria: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Malaria remains a global leading cause of morbidity and mortality. The absence of effective
vaccines is still the vital hindrance to the management and elimination of malaria. From that standpoint,
accurate laboratory diagnosis could be the right hand for disease management. Objective: This review
intended to assess the recent perspectives and upcoming directions in molecular diagnosis of malaria.
Methods: This review was conducted by using internet searching tools where 35 published papers were
retrieved from the credible online publishers and among them, 27 papers that satisfy the inclusion criteria
were profoundly reviewed.
Results: Among the 27 articles, 22(81.48 %) papers focus on contribution of PCR based-method in malaria
diagnosis, 4(14.8%) report on comparison between polymerase chain reaction(PCR) and other molecular
techniques, 7(30%) emphasize on advantages and disadvantages of PCR, 4(14.8%) represent relationship
among PCR and LAMP, 3(11%) discuss the most promising molecular diagnostic tools, 5(18%) focus on
comparative designs of different PCR methods, whereas 1(3.7%) emphasizes on parasite density and 2(7%)
on pigment containing monocyte.
Conclusion: This review conclude that microscopy remains the gold standard method for malaria diagnosis
and speciation in limited resource settings but also molecular based-methods provide significant alternatives
with superior sensitivity and specificity.